CFB Blitz: BYU's Bear attack headlines Week 7 takeaways

The weekly CFB Blitz is the spot to catch up on the most important developments from the day's action and examine their significance moving forward.

BYU's Bear Attack

BYU's path to an upset victory Saturday was essentially based around one thing: an all-time attack by its star quarterback. Bear Bachmeier delivered with one of the more incredible individual performances you'll see against the stout Notre Dame defense. Bachmeier ran for 45 yards and two touchdowns, caught a 15-yard score on a trick play, and threw the eventual game-winning touchdown with 1:47 remaining in the historic upset.

With star running back LJ Martin sidelined, Bachmeier knew he was going to be leaned on heavily in the contest. Between 36 passing attempts and 14 rushes, he touched the ball on 49 of the Cougars 67 plays, and had a hand in all of BYU's points.

It's an important win for Kelani Sitake for a number of reasons, but the biggest is the shattering of the narrative that the Cougars can't hang with top teams. BYU looked overmatched in two games versus Texas Tech last season - by far the best program on the schedule.

They don't get much tougher than Notre Dame in college football right now, and Bachmeier proved he's as important to his team as any player in the sport.

Another pass interference controversy?

For the second straight week, the marquee Saturday night game featured a questionable no-call in the end zone late in the contest. Last week it was Alabama not getting a pass interference call on a possible go-ahead touchdown versus Georgia despite plenty of contact occurring on the receiver. This week, it was Notre Dame that has plenty of evidence to complain, with no call given on the final play of the loss to BYU.

The play would have capped an incredible drive by CJ Carr in the final 110 seconds of action, driving Notre Dame the length of the field and converting multiple 4th downs. Not only could there have been a pass interference penalty, but it appeared there should have been one second left on the clock as well for another Irish attempt at a touchdown.

The loss snaps the 16-game winning streak for the Irish and makes if five AP top-7 teams to lose on the same day for the first time in the history of the poll.

The loss will sting Notre Dame, but Irish fans can take solace in the fact Carr is clearly one of the best quarterbacks in the country. With almost no rushing attack once again, the game was put on his shoulders and he largely delivered with four different 4th-down conversions.

However, as great as Carr is, 49 pass attempts is likely not how Marcus Freeman wants his offense to work. The rushing attack was held below four yards per carry for the fourth game this season, something that will have to change if Notre Dame wants to make noise in the playoff.

Miami picked good day to narrowly win

Look, almost any single week Miami needs double overtime to beat a 20.5-point underdog, we would find plenty to nitpick about the performance of Mario Cristobal's team. However, when five of the other top-7 teams in the AP Poll lost on the same day, we are going to largely give the Hurricanes a pass.

Miami should not struggle to beat a team of the Seminoles' quality, but multiple lapses - largely allowing a 75-yard touchdown in the final three minutes to tie the game - sent this game to the extra session. Finally, the Hurricanes stopped messing around and realized they have Malachi Toney and Florida State does not. Toney caught the go-ahead touchdown and then threw the two-point conversion on an option pass to put Miami up 8.

The lapses weren't done, with not one but two possible Hail Mary's almost leveling the score, however a late holding penalty and a narrow incompletion finally gave the Hurricanes the win.

Miami, you're clear from criticism this week, but if the same effort happens on upcoming road trips to North Carolina and Notre Dame, the result won't be as favorable.

Chesney, UCLA stand alone

How good has Bob Chesney been in his debut season with UCLA? The Big Ten and SEC hold the vast majority of the nation's top programs, yet there's only one team in those leagues combined that is still undefeated. That team is Chesney's Bruins after a 17-7 home win over Wisconsin.

Chesney got plenty of action out of Tyler Dieffenbach versus the Badgers, with the backup quarterback completing 22-of-33 passes for 264 yards in his first start since Nico Iamaleava was injured last week. That was more than enough for the defense Chesney has built in Westwood, as the Bruins sacked Colton Joseph three times and held him to just six completions and 66 yards passing.

If there's an area of concern for UCLA it's the rushing attack, as Iamaleava's presence slowed that usually dominant area. The Bruins needed 37 carries to hit 120 yards on the game, but much of that can be attributed to one of the nation's top rushing defenses on the other side.

The win puts UCLA further down the path towards the CFP with a 6-0 record and only one game against a ranked opponent left on the schedule. It also pushes Chesney much closer to virtually every coaching award possible in his first season with a Power conference team.

Kentucky follows the Oklahoma blueprint

The blueprint to beat Oklahoma is very well established at this point: don't give the Sooners easy points and John Mateer will eventually turn the ball over. Texas couldn't do that last week, allowing a punt-block touchdown and throwing a pick-6 in the Red River Rivalry loss. However, Kentucky followed that plan to perfection Saturday to post another SEC road win in Will Stein's debut season.

The Wildcats' offense wasn't spectacular, but that's not what is needed against the Sooners. Ball security is the most important thing, and Kentucky was perfect on that front with zero turnovers. Mateer on the other hand, threw three picks - including the game-clinching pick-6 late in the 4th.

Kentucky now has road wins at Texas A&M, South Carolina, and Oklahoma in Stein's first year as head coach. Add last week's incredible home upset of LSU, and the Wildcats are now tied for the lead in the SEC with Georgia. Stein is the first Kentucky coach to win six of his first seven games in over 100 years.

Chaos in the SEC

SEC coaches are a broken record boasting about how tough it is to play in that conference on a weekly basis. While most of the time it can be a tad nauseating, we will take a week off from pushing back on that narrative after Saturday. It was carnage across the conference for ranked teams, with No. 1 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Texas, No. 13 Missouri and No. 16 Mississippi State all losing.

How long has it been since a number of those teams all lost on the same day? The last time Texas, Georgia, and Alabama all dropped a regular-season contest in one day was October 26, 1996, according to ESPN's Cole Cubelic.

Not all losses are equal, and there's definitely a couple that stand out from the rest. Here's how they rank starting with the worst.

1. Georgia

No question here, Auburn's stunning win over Georgia is by far the most shocking result. It's the first time since 1990 that the AP No. 1 team has lost to an unranked team in back-to-back opponents, and it ends the Bulldogs' 53-game winning streak over unranked teams. It's not just the loss, but the manner in which Georgia fell that is a stunner. Kirby Smart was previously 65-0 when holding a 14-point lead - a margin the Bulldogs' raced out to Saturday. However, it wouldn't hold, and three turnovers later the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry went to the Tigers.

2. Texas

We have the full breakdown of Texas' second-half collapse versus Florida further down in the blitz, but it's time to sound the alarm bells in Austin. Back-to-back losses have been largely caused by abysmal offensive play, with one of the worst defensive units in the country holding the Longhorns to only 17 offensive points Saturday. Maybe Steve Sarkisian watched Michigan storm to a victory after a halftime quarterback change and is thinking the same thing with Arch Manning?

3. Alabama

The last time Alabama lost back-to-back regular-season games in the same year was 2007 - Nick Saban's first with the program. That run is now over with Tennessee's domination of the Tide on Saturday on the heels of the close loss to Georgia last week. We often forget Keelon Russell is a first-year starter with the electric plays he often makes, but it's a whole different ballgame to play on the road in the SEC. Neyland Stadium and the Tennessee defense brought the heat all day, forcing four turnovers and holding Alabama to just 201 total yards of offense. Don't look now, but the Volunteers' record, and very comfortable remaining schedule could have them threatening for a CFP spot.

4. Missouri

There's no shame in losing at Ole Miss, but there's at least a bit in the scoreboard reading 31-3 at the end of the contest. Missouri got its doors blown off by the Rebels' rushing attack, with five players piling up 257 yards on an electric 6.8 per carry. Kewan Lacy makes Ole Miss a different team, and his 122 yards on just 16 carries show he's rounding into top form. Missouri's offense finally hit the skids after a number of weeks at top gear, with the Rebels' dominant defensive line holding the Tigers to just 1.5 yards per carry. Austin Simmons is an outstanding quarterback, but even he needs some form of a rushing attack to function.

5. Mississippi State

No Kamario Taylor, no Fluff Bothwell, no contest for Mississippi State at LSU. Yes, it was ugly, but it also highlighted just how exceptional a talent Taylor is at the quarterback position. With him, the Bulldogs are a top-25 team. Without his services, they are a basement-dweller in the SEC. Get well soon, Kamario.

Tommy Carr, Michigan star

The Mannings might be the most famous family in college football at the moment, but the Carrs are coming for that crown. Lloyd Carr's legendary run at Michigan is well-documented, and his grandson CJ Carr is forging his own legacy as the quarterback at Notre Dame. Early Saturday, it was CJ's younger brother's turn in the spotlight, as Tommy Carr replaced an ineffective Bryce Underwood and led the Wolverines to a win over Penn State.

Underwood's been struggling, and he somehow looked the worst he has all season in Saturday's first half. The sophomore completed just 5 of his 11 passes for 43 yards with two interceptions. That was enough for Kyle Whittingham to turn to Tommy - much to the delight of his grandfather, who was sitting in a luxury box at Michigan Stadium.

The results were immediate: Carr led three touchdown drives in the second half. He wasn't exactly explosive, but he made sure the ball went to his own team through the air, something that Underwood had trouble with in the opening half. He finished 5-for-7 for 47 yards passing with 36 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Perhaps most importantly, the ground game clicked with Carr. Michigan averaged 3.5 yards per play with Underwood in the first half but put up 7.4 per snap in the second half, including a whopping 174 on the ground in the final 30 minutes.

Carr's unlikely to light up the scoreboard with his arm anytime soon, but his involvement got Michigan back to playing Wolverines football and pounding the rock. He'll probably be rewarded with his first career start - just in time for defending champion Indiana to visit Ann Arbor next week.

Chapel Bill is thriving

Hope you maxed out your jokes about Bill Belichick's struggles as a college coach, because the NFL legend has North Carolina cooking in his second year on campus. The battle for the Victory Bell doesn't have the same stakes as the Duke-UNC hoops rivalry, but it still delivered a dramatic finish in Durham.

Jaylen McGill's late touchdown gave the Tar Heels the lead, and an interception sealed the victory to already match North Carolina's win total from last year.

Belichick entered the season with what appeared to be a program in turmoil due to off-the-field issues. Chief among those was the resignations of his son Steve from the defensive coordinator role and general manager Mike Lombardi. However, there seems to be an addition-by-subtraction situation happening in Chapel Hill. Belichick has his team steamrolling toward bowl eligibility.

Gambling Day delivers for Ohio State

"Gambler" is not a description that's usually associated with Ryan Day. The Ohio State coach has been criticized throughout his Buckeyes tenure for being too conservative in his play-calling and shying away from gutsy moves in the biggest games. However, if you want to end the nation's longest active winning streak and take down the defending champions, sometimes you've gotta get a little nuts, and Day took some risks with his decision-making at Indiana.

Two bold fourth-down calls resulted in Ohio State touchdowns that helped the Buckeyes hand the Hoosiers their first loss since the 2024 season (with a major assist from Nick Marsh's lack of sideline awareness).

Day made his first risky call at fourth-and-goal on the 2-yard line with 10 seconds left in the opening half. A field goal would have made it 7-6 Indiana at the half, but Day wanted to head to the locker room with an advantage. What made this decision particularly gutsy was the fact that Ohio State had been stopped from scoring from inside the Indiana 4-yard line on the previous five plays. Day was undeterred, and Julian Sayin's short pass to Bo Jackson gave the Buckeyes the lead at the break.

The second gamble had significantly heightened stakes - although calling any pass to Jeremiah Smith a "gamble" doesn't seem quite right. The receiver had been quiet for most of the game thanks to a heavy dose of double coverage by the Hoosiers, but a 38-yard prayer on fourth-and-1 from Sayin was easily answered by a man who demonstrates weekly that he's likely the best college receiver since Randy Moss.

Day's job will get significantly harder with Sayin set to miss several weeks due to an arm injury. That thrusts freshman Luke Fahey into the starting quarterback role with the Buckeyes heading to USC after the bye week.

That will likely nudge Day back into conservative mode until his starting quarterback returns - which is probably wise given the strength of the Buckeyes' defense.

However, for one week, Ohio State needed a gambling man, and Day delivered.

Indiana had non-Indiana moments

"Disciplined" is probably the best way to describe Indiana under Curt Cignetti. For the past two years, the Hoosiers have simply refused to beat themselves. That resulted in the 22-game winning streak Indiana entered Saturday's game with, and the team's departure from that identity is the main reason that streak is over.

One of the wildest stats in college football was the first streak to be broken against the Buckeyes as Marsh lost a fumble on the first drive of the second half. That ended an outrageous run of 1,437 plays without Indiana's offense losing a fumble, dating all the way back to the 2025 season opener. A second fumble on the very next drive - this one by Josh Hoover - again shocked the home faithful, who aren't used to seeing poor ball control.

A blatant late hit on a sliding Fahey, who was pressed into action after Sayin's injury, extended an Ohio State drive and took more precious time off the clock - another unusual occurrence under Cignetti's watch. Despite that, Indiana was still in the mix in the final minutes, facing a fourth-and-4 on the Buckeyes' 27. Then, a lapse of concentration that we'll be talking about for years wound up deciding the game's outcome.

Hoover's throw could have been further off the sideline, but Marsh still had enough room to secure the grab and the win. The Indiana we'd gotten used to over the past 22 games would have done exactly that - but Saturday was a different story, and Marsh put his left foot down out of bounds.

Sark, Arch on the rocks

Florida was supposed to be the cure for what's been ailing Texas' offense. The Gators entered Saturday's road game in Austin ranked 131st in the nation against the pass and 113th in scoring defense. Many expected they'd offer a comfortable matchup for Steve Sarkisian to get Arch Manning and the offense going. What most people didn't expect to see was the Florida defense that came out of the locker room in the second half.

The Gators swarmed Manning over the final 30 minutes, sacking him four times and holding Texas to 21 total yards outside of the touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. The scene was all too familiar for Longhorns fans, whose frustration with both Sarkisian and Manning grew. The running game was nonexistent, producing minus-9 yards in the second half. Even when Sarkisian schemed up open plays for Manning, the highly touted passer couldn't connect.

Things have clearly reached a boiling point in Austin as Sarkisian admitted postgame that "everything's going to be evaluated," including a possible quarterback change. The Longhorns haven't scored more than 24 points against a power conference opponent all year, and seven of the 24 they put up Saturday came via a punt-return touchdown.

The 'good' Florida showed up

Seven weeks of evidence indicate that Florida is a Jekyll and Hyde team. The bad version of Jon Sumrall's Gators can lose to just about anybody, as evidenced by back-to-back blowout losses to Missouri and South Carolina. But the good version of Florida can beat any team in the country, as demonstrated by its domination of Ole Miss and Saturday's shocking win at Texas.

Tramell Jones Jr. was outstanding in the second half of his first collegiate start and may have started a quarterback controversy with Aaron Philo in Gainesville. There's time to dissect that later in the week because the dominant performance from the Gators' defense was the real surprise. Texas' offense may be reeling at the moment, but Florida took full advantage with a ferocious effort.

The Gators sacked Manning five times and posted an eye-popping 11 tackles for loss. If Sumrall can get that kind of performance from them on a weekly basis, Florida is going to be a problem in the SEC. It's anyone's guess whether that's possible.